Department for Transport

High Speed 2 Railway Line: Euston Station

lord framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have finalised plans and construction specifications to accommodate the arrival of HS2 at Euston Station.

baroness sugg: In relation to the design of the tunnel portal and station approaches, where HS2 arrives at Euston, revised proposals have been developed for bringing the HS2 line into Euston via the Camden Cutting as part of the development of the design of the High Speed (London to West Midlands) Act 2017 scheme.These updated proposals are at an early design stage. The Main Works Civils Contractor appointed for this section of the HS2 route, SCS Railways, are taking the design forward during 2018. SCS Railways are currently reviewing the emerging design and stress testing it against the Environmental Minimum requirements for the scheme.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

lord framlingham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the effect on HS2 of the failure of Carillion.

baroness sugg: For High Speed Two Ltd, the joint venture contracts involving Carillion were on joint and several liability terms where the contracts are underwritten by all three parties. This means that the other parties to the contract are obliged to carry out the works in Carillion’s absence. The transition to a two party joint venture involving Eiffage and Kier has now concluded, and there have been no impacts to delivery.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Yemen: Military Intervention

lord hoyle: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have raised again with the government of Saudi Arabia the bombing of civilians in Yemen, following the promise by the government of Saudi Arabia that it would act on alleged violations of humanitarian law; and if so, what response they have received from them.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We regularly raise our concerns with Saudi Arabia over alleged violations of international humanitarian law. The Foreign Secretary most recently raised the issue with the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister on 26 April. Saudi Arabia has announced an investigation into the most recent incidents involving civilian casualties which took place in Taiz and Hajjah on 21 and 22 April.

Africa: Foreign Relations

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government for each UK Embassy and High Commission in Africa, how many(1) British staff, and (2) local staff, are employed; and how many Department for International Development staff are employed in each African country (a) where there is UK diplomatic representation, and (b) where there is notfull UK diplomatic representation.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The below table provides a breakdown of the numbers of Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development (DFID) staff in Africa by country. There are no DFID staff employed in any country in Africa where there is not UK diplomatic representation.  Foreign & Commonwealth Office Department forInternational Development  Country Post UK Based LocallyEngaged UK Based Staff Appointed in CountryAlgeriaAlgiers771  AngolaLuanda*27  BotswanaGabarone*12*0BurundiBujumbura0*  CameroonYaounde*21  DRCKinshasa6422320EgyptCairoAlexandria240869  EritreaAsmara*12  EthiopiaAddis Ababa191542742GambiaBanjul*16  GhanaAccra*113923GuineaConakry*10  Ivory CoastAbidjan*10  KenyaNairobi351233352LiberiaMonrovia*9  LibyaTripoli*13  MadagascarAntananarivo*10  MalawiLilongwe*331824MaliBamako*10*0MauritaniaNouakchott*0  MauritiusPort Louis*13  MoroccoRabatCasablanca15035*  MozambiqueMaputo*231121NamibiaWindhoek*14  NigeriaAbujaLagosPort Harcourt31*0141118*3055RwandaKigali*241717SenegalDakar*38  SeychellesVictoria*7  Sierra LeoneFreetown*2301916SomaliaMogadishu16**0South AfricaPretoriaJohannesburgCape Town190*126914814South SudanJuba7231615SudanKhartoum72011511TanzaniaDar es Salaam7442133TunisiaTunis2784*0UgandaKampala6381725ZambiaLusaka*261414ZimbabweHarare6481319* Specific numbers are not provided where there are fewer than 6 members of staff at Post, in order to abide by data protection regulations.

Africa: Foreign Relations

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was (1) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office budget, and the (2) the Department for International Development budget, for each country in Africa, for each year since 2010.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The attached tables provide a breakdown of:(a) Foreign and Commonwealth Office spend for each Post in Africa for each year from financial year 2010/11 to 2016/17; financial year 2017/18 spend figures have yet to be finalised;(b) Department for International Development spend for each African country from financial year 2010/2011 to 2017/18.



FCO Africa Budgets 2010-17
(PDF Document, 440.84 KB)




DFID Africa Budgets 2010-18
(PDF Document, 347.12 KB)

Armenia: Politics and Government

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the political situation in Armenia following the resignation of President Serzh Sargsyan.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government is pleased that a negotiated solution to Armenia’s political situation has been found and we congratulate Nikol Pashinyan on being elected Prime Minister. To the credit of all involved, the events leading to this political transition unfolded peacefully and largely without incident. As a longstanding friend of Armenia, the UK stands ready to support its efforts to strengthen its democracy, deliver good governance, and improve economic opportunities for all.

Hong Kong: Freedom of Expression

the marquess of lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact ofthe response of the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to Professor Benny Tai Yiu-ting’s remarks concerning Hong Kong and independence reported after a seminar in Taiwan in March, on the expression of free speech in Hong Kong.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The right to freedom of speech is guaranteed under both the Sino-British Joint Declaration and Hong Kong’s Basic Law, and is central to the success of ‘One Country, Two Systems’. We continue to urge the Hong Kong Special Administrative Government to ensure that the rights and freedoms of the citizens of Hong Kong, including freedom of speech, are fully respected, as guaranteed in the Basic Law. My officials in Hong Kong and London will continue to monitor this issue closely.

Department for Education

Sex and Relationship Education

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government when the updated guidance on relationships education at primary school and relationship and sex education at secondary school will be published.

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to issue the results of their consultation on personal, social, health and economic education in schools; and when they intend to issue guidance.

lord agnew of oulton: The department recently conducted a wide-ranging engagement process on the scope and content of Relationships Education and Relationships and Sex Education, and on the status of Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE). This involved a wide range of interested stakeholders and a public call for evidence.The department is assessing the evidence gathered during the engagement process, to support decisions on the content of the subjects and on the future status of PSHE. The results of the call for evidence will be published in due course alongside a consultation on draft regulations and accompanying statutory guidance, before laying the regulations in the House for debate.

Private Education

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria determines whether a proprietor of an unregistered independent school is committing an offence.

lord agnew of oulton: It is a criminal offence for any person to operate an unregistered independent school. The criteria applied to determine whether a proprietor is committing an offence are those which are contained in:Section 96 of the Education and Skills Act 2008;the associated definition of “independent school” in Section 463 of the Education Act 1996; andhow the constituent elements of “independent school “ are defined elsewhere in the 1996 Act and other legislation.There are a number of relevant factors which are taken into account to determine whether a proprietor is committing an offence. For example, whether the proprietor is conducting an independent school, whether the institution is registered in the register of independent schools maintained by the Secretary of State under Section 95 of the Education and Skills Act 2008, and whether the institution is a non-maintained special school to be determined by reference to the definition of “non-maintained special school” in Section 337A of the Education Act 1996.

Home Office

Ilois: Resettlement

lord ouseley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they intend to resolve the disputed citizenship and rights of the children of exiled Chagos islanders in order to avoid an outocme similar to the Windrush scandal.

baroness williams of trafford: My Rt Hon Friend, the Home Secretary, indicated in the House of Commons on 30 April (col 52) that he intends to meet Henry Smith MP to discuss his Private Member’s Bill on this issue.

Cabinet Office

National Security

viscount waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps have been taken to date to improve coordination across Government departments through the Fusion Doctrine; and in which departments and under which co-ordinating ministers is the work being done to ensure that the UK has the relevant staff and private sector engagement to prevent and respond to hybrid threats.

the earl of courtown: The new national security doctrine, the Fusion Doctrine, builds on the creation and early years of the National Security Council (NSC), embeds the lessons from the Chilcot report and supports a whole-of-government approach to national security.All NSC and NSC(Officials) meetings now use the Fusion Doctrine framework as a guide for the discussions. It is the responsibility of designated Senior Responsible Officials (SRO) to implement the Government’s strategy and coordinate across the whole of government.Protecting the UK from hybrid threats is a whole-of-government effort. A range of Government departments (including the Cabinet Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Ministry of Defence), working with the relevant parts of the private sector prepare for, prevent and respond to hybrid threats. The Government’s overall approach is overseen by the NSC and through sub-committees such as the NSC for Threats, Hazards, Resilience and Contingencies.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Cybercrime

viscount waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to modernise the legal environment to enhance the resilience of UK private sector organisations to defend themselves and their clients against cyber threats.

lord ashton of hyde: The forthcoming Data Protection Bill will require all organisations to have appropriate technical and organisational cyber security measures in place to protect personal data. In addition, for critical services and digital service providers, the Government is transposing the Network and Information Systems Directive into UK Law which requires relevant digital service providers to take appropriate and proportionate measures to secure their network and information systems from both cyber attacks and physical failures. In addition, as committed to in its Cyber Regulation and Incentives review published in 2016, the Government continues to monitor the wider cyber security regulatory landscape to ensure it remains fit for purpose.

Electronic Warfare

viscount waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ashton of Hyde on 5 March (HL5690), whether they consider the National Cyber Security Centre guidance stated is sufficient to ensure that all sectors of industry and the general public are sufficiently protected against a hybrid threat; and if not, what additional guidance is planned.

lord ashton of hyde: The National Cyber Security Centre is focussed on the cyber security threat but works closely with its partners, CPNI and MOD, to ensure that the UK is protected against the hybrid threat. The NCSC seeks to provide actionable and accessible guidance and it also works closely with a range of key UK organisations to understand their systems, provide bespoke advice and ensure that cybersecurity is considered as part of new programmes and systems. The NCSC has also been strengthening the UK’s cyber defences through the Active Cyber Defence programme. It is the responsibility of all organisations to ensure they are sufficiently cyber secure and, while the threat of cyber attacks cannot be eliminated completely, organisations can and should reduce the risks by acting on NCSC issued guidance on how best to defend against cyber attacks. This guidance is widely available to all and updated regularly.